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Socio-Economic
Montage
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Premier's Summit
on Economic Opportunity - Kootenays
Summary of Proceedings
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Authored by:
Ministry of Employment and Investment, Province
of British Columbia
November 1998
Location of Publication: Ministry
of Employment and Investment
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The Premier's Summit on Economic
Opportunity for the Kootenays was held November 4th to 6th, 1998,
in Castlegar, British Columbia, as part of the provincial government's
jobs and economic development strategy. This strategy involves regional
consultation with communities to assist in the development of regional
job and economic strategies.
About 200 people, representing a
broad range of sectoral, geographic and community interests were
invited. In addition to the summit discussions, focus group meetings
and public submissions were held. An interactive website provided
input on job creation and economic development opportunities. Group
discussions focused on sectoral economic development issues, identifying
strengths, challenges, opportunities, gaps and action ideas. Summit
participants were assigned to one of 10 sector workshops for three
separate group discussions (participants remained in the same sector
workshop for each of the group discussions):
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Group Discussion
I addressed sectoral issues, strengths
and challenges, focusing largely on job creation and economic
development.
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Group Discussion
II focused on economic development
opportunities and "gaps". Participants dealt with
two questions: "Given world trends, where are the greatest
possibilities for job creation and economic development in
this sector?" and "What are some of the things happening
within the industry that might prevent the creation of jobs
and the furthering of economic development?".
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Group Discussion
III considered
action ideas for job creation and ways of acting on the opportunities
identified in Group Discussion II. |
The top ranked opportunities identified
for each sector during the course of the group discussions are as
follows:
Advanced Education & Skills Training
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greater
synergy between education/training partners; |
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training to support the entrepreneurial
spirit and culture;
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training and retraining to
access global markets;
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training in technology to
meet challenges; and,
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improved infrastructure (technology)
to access global markets. |
Agriculture
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producing unique non-traditional
products;
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marketing to non-traditional
and local markets;
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teaching regional producers
how to meet niche markets;
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encouraging/facilitating development
of small operations;
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taking advantage of under-utilized,
diverse land base; and,
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processing more products locally. |
Arts
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tourist/leisure travelers
seeking Arts, Culture and Heritage (ACH) experience;
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utilizing society's interest
in mass media and Internet to expose our ACH;
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fulfilling consumer demand
for environmentally-friendly ecologically-sensitive value-added
ACH;
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the additional capacity available
in existing infrastructure and services to provide eco-tourism
and heritage/cultural tourism; and,
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the Kootenay culture encouragement
of small home-based businesses |
Forestry
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attaining full value of our
forests;
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an increasing market for certified
products;
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foreign markets for a broad
array of forest products;
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a large supply of under-utilized
fibre;
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a long-term management plan;
and,
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the existing opportunity to
increase the health and competitiveness of the forest industry
while maintaining environmental standards. |
High Technology
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the opportunity to create
a coordinated economic strategy around the high tech sector
(because of its "green" nature);
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E-commerce - marketing local
products, and expanding technology jobs to support it;
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applying technology to other
industries in the region to better utilize raw materials (i.e.
lumber mills);
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telecommuting; and,
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attracting new business by
providing customized training focussed on the company's needs. |
Infrastructure
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federal infrastructure funding;
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public-private partnerships;
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increased use of hydro and
other power;
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tourism trends: resort, back-country,
hiking; and,
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Southern Crossing gas pipeline
(access to gas). |
Mining and Smelting
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taking
advantage of capital seeking a stable investment climate;
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marketing
customized mineral products;
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diversifying
the range of mineral products produced;
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adding
value to mineral products we now produce; and,
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meeting
the growing world demand for minerals. |
Secondary Manufacturing
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more secondary manufacturing
of existing products that are exported;
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more manufacturing of equipment,
tools and material/products used in the existing primary and
secondary manufacture process, recreation, mining, logging
and milling;
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environmental enterprise (especially
related to the processing of waste);
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regional cooperative marketing
for agri-food; and,
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developing the artisanal sector
into manufacturing sectors. |
Small Business
Promoting the following:
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tourism;
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a Kootenay cooperative showcase
for small business;
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film, video and sound production;
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services for seniors (alternative
health);
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organic products (including
livestock); and,
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small business. |
Tourism
Encouraging the following:
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cultural and wellness tourism;
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trans-Canada and local rails
to trails;
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soft adventure and eco-tourism;
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a sub-regional airline supported
by tourism; and,
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conference facilities. |
The main body of the report contains
the full results of the 10 sector workshops, while the appendices
contain the supporting documents:
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Profile of the Kootenay Region
and Sector Background Papers;
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Provincial Government Investments
and Actions: Supporting job creation and economic development
in the Kootenays;
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Pre-Summit Community Consultation:
Report on Focus Group Meetings; and,
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Summary of Public Submissions. |
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